National government needs to step in to assist Jozini after devastating rains

The national government has to step in and assist the community in Jozini, in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, following the devastating rains.

MEC Thulani Buthelezi from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs said it was clear that the lives of the people in the area have been affected by the recent damage. He visited the area on Sunday.

The rains damaged infrastructure and livelihoods; roads became impassable after they were partly washed away, livestock was killed, and bridges were damaged.

Buthelezi said, “It's pretty clear there is extensive damage in the area, and the municipality does not have the capacity to handle the damage. That is why the national government and the provincial government must intervene to restore the lives of the people in this area. We are seeing that infrastructure has been damaged and livestock has been killed. We saw (carcasses of) goats being lifted, which tells us that the lives of the people in this area have been set back immensely,” said the MEC.

“The province and the municipality must work together to ensure that we deliver immediate relief as soon as we can. I know that the provincial disaster management team is here, and we hope we will be able to move quickly to deliver what we can, even if there are still outstanding responses on the damage, so that people could be helped as quickly as possible and that normality in the lives of the people is restored as soon as it is possible.”

THE MERCURY